“It would have been in those two months with Rajasthan Royals”- Kevin Pietersen credits IPL 2023 behind Joe Root’s innovative scoop shots.

Joe Root, is widely regarded as one of the premier batsmen of the modern era. His performance in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston was nothing short of spectacular. In the first innings, Root played an exceptional innings, scoring an unbeaten 118 off 152 deliveries. Displaying his mastery of the game, he executed reverse scoops to perfection, hitting sixes over the third man boundary off the bowling of Pat Cummins and Scott Boland.

Root’s brilliance continued in the second innings, where he contributed a vital 46 runs to help England set a challenging target of 281 runs for Australia in the fourth innings. His aggressive mindset was evident throughout the match. Against Boland, Root confidently stepped out of his crease, forcing wicketkeeper Alex Carey to come up to the stumps. Root then executed reverse scoops again, hitting one six and a four off Boland, collecting 16 runs in a single over.

The cricketing world, including fans and experts, were left in awe of Root’s remarkable display scoops. It is worth noting that Root had a brief stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2023, playing for the Rajasthan Royals after being picked in the auction at his base price. Although he only got the opportunity to bat in one of the three matches he played, Root spent valuable time with the team. According to former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen, this experience in the IPL allowed Root to develop and showcase some astonishing unorthodox shots that have been on display in the ongoing first Ashes Test.

Kevin Pietersen said “The sky is the limit for Root with the brain he has and also his work ethic, which is like none other. With 11,000 Test runs, he could be, ‘I’ve got enough, I could swan around, get a hundred, watch everyone the next morning warm up and play football with the lads’. No, no. Every single morning Root is out there wanting to improve. We are lucky enough to watch a master and long may that continue,” .

Adding Pietersen said “It would have been in those two months in the IPL (with Rajasthan Royals) where those shots would have been ingrained in his game,”.